Kirin gets creative against BSE
An alcoholic-beverage manufacturer may seem an unlikely foe against mad cow disease, but Hematech - a subsidiary of the Kirin Brewery Company - and Kirin Brewery say they have genetically engineered healthy 'prion protein-knockout cows', in a report published in Nature Biotechnology.
Research tool
Prion protein is a natural cellular protein that can become misfolded into infectious particles and cause bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE, or 'mad cow disease'), as well as a lethal variant of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD) in humans. The researchers say that healthy prion protein-free calves should be useful in investigating the function of normal cellular prion proteins and the nature of prion diseases. Researchers say that the cows should also be useful as a source of prion protein-free products. Given that BSE is highly stable, resists freezing, drying and heating at normal cooking temperatures - even those used for pasteurization and sterilization - this may not be a bad argument for tinkering with DNA.
"By knocking out the prion-protein gene and producing healthy calves, our team has successfully demonstrated that normal cellular prion protein is not necessary for the development and survival of cattle," explains James Robl, PhD, president and chief scientific officer of Hematech.
Disease mechanism
The nature of the BSE agent is still a matter of debate. According to the prion theory, the agent is composed largely, of a self-replicating protein, referred to as a prion. Another theory argues that the agent is virus-like and possesses nucleic acids which carry genetic information.
MIT's antimicrobial 'paint' destroys E coli
What's one way to beat a virus? Poke holes in its membranes. Researchers at MIT (The Massacusetts Institute of Technology) say they've developed a new 'antimicrobial paint' that can kill viruses that land on surfaces coated with it.
Method
The new coating, which can be sprayed or brushed onto surfaces, acts differently from usual antibacterial products (e.g. soaps, sponges or cutting boards). Conventional products kill bacteria but not viruses, and depend on a timed release of antibiotics, heavy-metal ions or other biocides. According to Alexander Klibanov, MIT professor of chemistry and bioengineering, this is a system that has many drawbacks. Once all of the biocide has been released, the antimicrobial activity disappears. And it may be harmful to release biocides into the environment.
In contrast, the MIT researchers say they have observed more than a 10,000-fold drop in the number of viruses on surfaces coated with the new polymer substance. An added bonus? The coating likely prevents bacterial resistance. Bacteria can fight traditional antibiotics by adjusting the biochemical path-ways targeted by antibiotics, but the coating makes it difficult for bacteria to evolve in a way to stop the polymer spikes from tearing holes in their membranes.
"It's hard to develop resistance to someone sticking a knife in your body," explains Klibanov.
Thailand takes on traceability
Thailand has begun a RFID pilot project to track poultry. Developed by the National Electronics and Computer Technology Center (Nectec) and the Department of Livestock Development, the initiative aims to create an animal identification system using RFID. As reported in the Bangkok Post Online, the technology is to be tested at 25 poultry farms, and will likely be extended to pig and cattle farms next. The Livestock Department has reportedly set aside about 1.4 to 2.2 million dollars for a traceability system dedicated to poultry. In 2005, Thailand's food industry ventured into RFID when Charoen Pokphand Foods (CPF) and Chanthaburi Frozen Food invested around about $270,000 to fund shrimp traceability trials.
Thailand's food traceability system was developed by the National Innovation Agency (NIA) and Nectec, in conjunction with the Fishery Department, Agriculture and Cooperatives Ministry, and the Smart card/RFID cluster.
Water unlikely to carry avian flu
What if the avian flu was transmitted by the water you use in your plant? Cornell University researchers recently set out to investigate that scenario. Through their findings, they determined that a close relative of the highly-pathogenic avian influenza virus (H5N1) can be eliminated by waste and drinking-water treatments - including chlorination, ultraviolet (UV) radiation and bacterial digesters.
H5N2
Cornell researchers studied the related virus, called H5N2, to see whether a hypothetical mutated form of H5N1 could infect people through drinking and wastewater systems, according to a recent study in Environmental Engineering Science.
H5N2, a low-pathogenic avian influenza virus that is not contagious for humans and is physically similar to H5N1 (which has been lethal to millions of birds globally and more than half of the almost 200 infected people mostly through handling infected birds, since 2003). Researchers and offi cials are concerned that if H5N1 mutates to transmit easily between people, a deadly global pandemic could occur.
"It is unknown if H5N1 is more resistant than H5N2 to procedures used by the water management industry," explains Araceli Lucio-Forster, PhD, the paper's lead author and a teaching support specialist in Cornell's Department of Microbiology and Immunology.
Because H5N1 requires high-level biosafety facilities, Lucio- Forster and colleagues used H5N2 as a surrogate virus. Given the similarities between the two viruses, she thinks that if H5N1 entered the water treatment system, "the virus should be inactivated, which means treated water may not be a likely source of transmission," says Lucio-Forster.
Results
Overall, avian flu viruses do not survive well outside of a host. To test the effectiveness of UV radiation for killing the H5N2 virus, the researchers exposed the virus in drinking water as well as in wastewater effluents to UV light at varying levels. The treatment was reportedly very effective in killing H5N2 at levels well within industry standards.
For chlorine, the results were less defi nitive. Inactivation of H5N2 depends on both chlorine concentrations and time of exposure. Similarly, the small laboratory-scale study found that bacterial digesters also reduced H5N2 to undetectable levels after 72 hours, which is consistent with industry standards.
Asia makes move to eliminate toxic pesticides
Thailand, Vietnam and China are banning the use of methyl parathion, monocrotophos and several other highly-toxic WHO Class I pesticides—deemed 'most hazardous' by the FAO.
This welcome move comes at a time when use of chemical agents is on the rise in Asia. During the 1990s, pesticide consumption doubled in Vietnam, surging from 20,000 to about 43,000 metric tons. Clearly, this recent ban on highly-toxic substances is a positive, long-term step; but it's no guarantee. In 2000, approximately 5,645 kilograms of illegally-imported or counterfeit pesticides were being used in Vietnam
UV and ozone kill listeria
University of Illinois scientists Scott Martin and Hao Feng have found that a combination of ultrasound and ozone can eliminate all Listeria monocytogenes on a stainless-steel chip in 30 seconds. This positive result has promising implications for the sanitation of processing equipment.
The researchers have reduced the length of time it takes to reach the FDA's 5-log reduction standard to 30 seconds, which may still be too long for the food and beverage industry. "The thing is we're making steady progress," Martin says.
